Medicare vs Medicaid

Nathan Ziegler & Associates | Lubbock, TX (806) 765-8801
http://estateplanningattorneylubbocktx.com/medicaid-planning-asset-protection/

Do you have a loved one living in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility? Will your loved one need long-term care within the next five years?

Whether you are planning ahead or in the middle of a care crisis, we will help your family take the important steps and decisive actions needed to help you reduce or eliminate the rising costs of care for your loved one.

Nathan Ziegler & Associates is a full-service elder law, estate planning, Medicaid nursing home benefits, probate law and veterans benefits firm in Lubbock, TX. We are here to help you navigate through the costs and preparations associated with long-term care and estate planning. With the skilled professionals and attorneys at Nathan Ziegler & Associates, we can provide peace of mind and protection to seniors, their homes and savings, and their families.

We understand that every situation is unique, and invite you to call our office today for an appointment at (806) 765-8801

Practice Areas:

Long-Term Care Planning
Veterans’ Benefits Planning
Disability Planning
Medicaid Planning
Estate Planning
Guardianship
Adult Guardianship Litigation
Probate
Asset Protection

Nathan Ziegler & Associates
12002 Trafalgar Avenue
Ste. 202
Lubbock, TX 79424
(806) 765-8801

Nathan Ziegler & Associates
1030 Andrews Hwy
Suite #101,
Midland, TX 79701

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? Will Medicare pay for a nursing home?
A lot of folks are not familiar with the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is the health insurance program, if you will, for most people in retirement. So that’s part of the bargain that the government made with us, we’re going to pay in throughout our productive years, we’re going to pay a little bit of everything that we paid into the system and then in retirement, Medicare is supposed to cover our sales expenses, cover our health care. Unfortunately when Medicare was put in place the average man didn’t even live till age 65. The need for long-term care wasn’t so much on the radar when Medicare was put in gear. Now that we’re living longer, there’s a new reality that wasn’t in place when Medicare was put in place and as a result whether Medicare is going to cover the cost of my healthcare in my retirement depends largely on what happens to me, what sort of illness befalls me. If I need a quadruple bypass in retirement, I’m covered with Medicare. But if I developed Parkinson’s, or dementia, or need longer care, Medicare is not going to cover it. In Texas, about 2/3 of people in nursing homes are on Medicaid. The vast majority of people did not start out on Medicaid, most of them had some savings and went into a nursing home once their savings was exhausted then they qualified for Medicaid. If they own the house, that house became subject to Medicaid estate recovery through the state program, Medicare does not pay for long-term care. For most folks they will pay for 20 days and then for a portion of the next 80 days after that nobody has a guarantee that Medicare will pay any of those 100 days that largely depends on the circumstances under which you go in. Medicare doesn’t pay anything for long term care after 100 days. The fall back is either you have long-term care insurance that picks that up which by the time those people are thinking about the need for that sort of coverage, its either not cost effective or they can’t get through under writing, to be able to afford long-term care insurance. And so they’re either going to get qualified for Medicaid to pay for it, or they’re going to private pay and spend down their savings to pay for it or potentially get qualified for veterans benefits to pay for it, or a family member is going to pay for it. The difference between Medicaid and Medicare are significant and has a big impact on folks on the elder care journey

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